Shaykh Abdallah Adhami, a Muslim scholar who on Jan 14 was named as the new senior imam at the Islamic center being built near the World Trade Center site has given up the job. The 44-year-old had been announced as the new imam on Jan. 14, after its co-founder, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, was given a reduced role.
Shaykh Abdallah Adhami said Friday in a joint statement with the center’s developer that he will no longer serve as a religious adviser to the center. “It is important for me now to devote my time to the completion of my book, which assists English readers in understanding and facilitating the language of the Quran. I wish the project leaders well,” said Adhami.
However, shortly after his appointment, news reports questioned his views on homosexuality. In one recorded lecture, he said he believed that homosexuality was linked to childhood abuse.
That prompted El-Gamal to issue a statement last month in which he said that Adhami would not be a leader of the center, called Park51, but just one of a number of religious figures invited to participate in programming.
